Julian Barnes

Reading and life are not separate but symbiotic. And for this serious task of imaginative discovery and self-discovery, there is and remains one perfect symbol: the printed book.

I'm a complete democrat in terms of who buys my books.

Often the grind of book promotion wearies you of your own book - though at the same time this frees you from its clutches.

I hate the bad rap that people give my parents. Because they are just parents, really, at the end of the day trying to stand up for their daughter and themselves.

They said I couldn't play anything but an English boy. I knew I could. So I went to New York.